


maybe it's not too late

by Megakatze (LaufeiaEvans)



Category: Dalton Academy Series
Genre: Hell Night Never Happened AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:42:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25795339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaufeiaEvans/pseuds/Megakatze
Summary: Dalton Big Bang Day 67: Adam Was Caught AUWhen Logan discovers just how much his friends have been keeping from him, he'll do just about anything to keep them from pulling away further.
Relationships: Julian Larson-Armstrong/John Logan Wright III
Kudos: 4





	maybe it's not too late

Logan stood in the middle of Julian’s room, staring down his two best friends as they shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze.

“A stalker?” he said again, his eyes wide with disbelief. “You—he sent you _death threats_?”

“Only if I left,” Julian explained wearily. He looked small and weak in a too-big sweatshirt, his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. The dark circles under his eyes stood out prominently against his pale, sunken face.

“He wanted Julian to stay at Dalton,” Derek explained. “So he could…keep an eye on him, I guess?”

“Why didn’t you just _tell_ me?” Logan looked between the two of them incredulously, his usual fire undercut with real concern. He had been angry, of course, that neither Derek nor Julian had considered it important to let him know how bad the situation had gotten—but more than that, he was _horrified_ to learn how close Julian had come to being in real danger.

“Because I didn’t want to risk him coming after you!”

Julian’s sudden outburst caught Logan off guard, and he froze, his face folding in confusion.

“After _me_?”

Julian’s jaw snapped shut. He inhaled sharply, drawing closer into himself. Derek glanced nervously between the two of them.

“Julian—“ Derek started, but Julian just threw up his hand.

“Don’t,” he whispered, and Derek listened.

Logan took a tentative step toward Julian. He paused, taking a deep breath and clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. Flipping out wasn’t going to help right now, he told himself. Fighting to keep his voice level, he repeated, “Why would he come after me?”

With a steely glare, Julian looked up at Logan.

“Get out.”

“Julian,” Derek tried again, but Julian wasn’t having it.

“Both of you,” he snapped. Derek shot Logan a look of frustration. Logan just looked wounded. “Get out of my room.”

“I’m not leaving,” Logan protested, feeling his anger rising once again. He hated the thought of his friends keeping such a huge secret, couldn’t even _imagine_ what kind of justification Julian had for leaving him out of it. “What aren’t you telling me?”

The air between them was heavy as he waited for a response. Julian wouldn’t look at him, kept his head down even as he glanced over at Derek, who gave him a meaningful look.

“Go,” Julian said, nodding to the door. Derek’s eyes widened.

“Are you sure?” he whispered, and Logan’s frown deepened.

“Go, before I change my mind." Derek looked quickly back at Logan before doing as Julian said, slipping out the door before Logan even had a chance to wonder what this was all about.

“What’s going on, Julian?” he said instead, almost pleading. “Is it…did I _do_ something to—”

“No,” Julian said quickly. He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “No, you…you didn’t do anything.”

Logan waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn’t, something in him snapped.

“Goddammit, what is it that you can’t even _look_ at me?”

Julian's eyes flew open hurriedly, and when Logan caught the look of fear on his face a wave of guilt washed over him. He had never seen Julian look this vulnerable—he hadn’t even been sure he was _capable_ of showing this kind of weakness openly. It was enough to stop Logan in his tracks even before Julian said his next words.

“I’m in love with you.”

The silence in the room was deafening. Logan’s mouth fell open in shock as his eyes locked on Julian’s. Julian swallowed hard, shrinking back into himself and letting his gaze drop to the floor. He bit his lip, and Logan blinked rapidly, forcing himself to respond.

“W-What?”

Julian screwed his eyes shut. “Don’t make me say it again.”

“What are you—“ Logan found his voice again, his initial shock fading away as he tried to make sense of all this. “No,” he breathed, shaking his head.

“Since freshman year,” Julian mumbled. He refused to look at Logan, his arms wrapped protectively around his waist like he was trying to disappear. “I knew I had no chance. That you could never—“ His voice caught in his throat, and Logan’s heart sank. “But, well. I stayed, anyway. Watched you look right past me to someone else, again and again. And…I guess I haven’t been so good at hiding it, lately, because he fucking figured it out and he tried to _kill_ you.” Julian huffed, his words coming out in a rush. “That’s without you even knowing about him, much less getting in his way. So. I wasn’t exactly inclined to put you at any more risk.”

Logan’s head was spinning. He thought back to all the times he’d narrowly avoided serious injury, incidents he’d brushed aside as nothing more than a Windsor prank. But if it had actually been Julian’s stalker, had been an attempt to remove him from the picture so Julian wouldn’t be fixated on anyone else…

He felt sick.

“How—” he tried again, still not quite trusting his voice. “Since freshman year?”

Julian nodded gravely.

“But that’s—that’s impossible.” Logan shook his head, unwilling to believe it. “ _No_ , I—I would’ve known, I _must_ have—“

“You didn’t,” Julian muttered miserably. Logan met his eyes, glistening with unshed tears. He swallowed hard against a lump forming in his throat. “You never looked my way, not once. After this year, after Kurt, I couldn’t…I can’t do it anymore. I had to go.”

Logan shook his head, his heart racing. “No,” he said firmly. “No, you—you _can’t_ …”

“It doesn’t matter.” Just like that, Julian’s walls were back up, any traces of underlying vulnerability locked firmly behind a cold veneer. It almost gave Logan whiplash. “They caught him. The stalker. There’s nothing keeping me here anymore, so I’m free to take whatever movies I want to.” His eyes met Logan’s, betraying no emotion. “I’m leaving Dalton for good.”

With those words, Logan felt the friendship he’d worked so hard to maintain over the last three years slipping from his grasp. His world had been turned upside-down in a matter of moments, before he’d even had the chance to process the first revelation of Julian’s stalker being caught. He couldn’t even bring himself to imagine being at Dalton without Julian. Even when he’d been gone, even during his longest time away filming, Julian had always had a place in Logan’s life. They had promised, all three of them—they would be friends forever, no matter how bad things got.

So in that moment, when he felt like he had nothing left to lose, Logan did something a little bit reckless.

“Let me take you out.”

Julian’s brow furrowed. “Excuse me?” he said harshly, his words sharp and unforgiving. Logan took a deep breath.

“Let me take you out,” he repeated, slowly and carefully. “To dinner, or a movie, or something, I don’t care.” He sighed, silently pleading with Julian to understand, to consider giving this a chance. “Let’s go on a date. A real one. And if…if it goes badly, it doesn’t work out, then okay. You can leave. Say goodbye to Dalton forever, and you won’t ever have to see me again.”

Julian blinked. “You—“ he started, cutting himself off with a humorless laugh. “You’re asking me on a _date_.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” Logan said, and he could tell Julian’s facade was cracking, just a little. “If you don’t want to be friends anymore…then let’s not.”

For a moment, it almost seemed like Julian was considering it. But then he was shaking his head, turning away from Logan.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he mumbled, and Logan wanted to scream. “You love Kurt. You don’t want me, you never have.”

Logan made a noise of frustration. “Julian,” he pleaded, but Julian shook his head.

“Go,” he whispered, turning his face so Logan wouldn’t see the tears falling. “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

Logan was about to protest that it didn’t _have_ to be hard at all, but he stopped himself. Maybe Julian was right. He wasn’t thinking straight, would say just about _anything_ right now to convince Julian not to leave him. Maybe this wasn’t what he wanted at all. Maybe they were better off going their separate ways.

But didn’t they owe it to themselves to _try_?

“Just think about it,” Logan said quietly. “Please?”

Julian didn’t answer. But when Logan finally turned away, pushing open the door with a heavy sigh, he didn’t say goodbye, either. And Logan hoped against all hope that that counted for something.

It had to.


End file.
